In the current state of the art, a mobile wireless operator network requires a great deal of planning. One aspect of planning that is required is radio frequency (RF) planning, that is, the planning of emplacements of transmitting towers. RF planning includes deciding how many towers to place, what direction to direct antennas, considering the impact of topography, foliage, etc. on radio propagation, selecting one or more frequencies for use when multiple options for frequency are available, and other planning factors. Notably, planning for capacity includes accounting not only for the number of projected users at one time but also the projected usage of those users, both for signaling and user data.
As well, a user equipment (UE) enters into an idle mode when its radio connection is released. Once in idle mode, if the UE needs to be reached by the network, LTE standards define a procedure called paging. Paging involves broadcasting the UE's identity in the radio cells belonging to a set of eNodeBs grouped into tracking areas. The UE could be present in one of the cells and will respond to paging by performing a service request procedure. This results in the radio connection being re-established and the network becoming able to communicate with the UE for either control or data traffic. Since many UEs in the LTE network are in idle mode at any given time, this equates to a high number of paging attempts going on a given network. A paging strategy is needed to reach the UE while reducing load and effectively utilizing paging resources.